NYC conversion assistance bill: Int. 178-A explained

On November 12, 2026, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring city agencies to help owners who turn offices and other commercial or manufacturing buildings into housing. The passed bill has a narrower scope than the original proposal: no new office, no director, and a report every three years instead of every year. Here is what it requires, what changed, and when it starts.

Checked against the Council-passed text of Int. 178-A · Updated November 13, 2026

Status as of November 13, 2026. The Council approved Int. 178-A on November 12. Its legislation record lists “Enacted (Mayor’s Desk for Signature)” but has no enactment date or local law number. An effective calendar date is not yet confirmed; the bill specifies 180 days after it becomes law.

At a glance

The bill: New York City Council Int. 178-A of 2026 (also written Intro. 178-A), adding section 3-119.15, “Conversion assistance,” to the Administrative Code. Prime sponsor Council Member Harvey Epstein, with 14 co-sponsors.
What it would require: City agencies would provide a liaison for questions and permit status, work with state and federal permit and funding programs, run a public website on conversions, and collect data.
Which buildings: Commercial or manufacturing buildings being converted to housing (zoning Use Group II), anywhere in the city, once an alteration application is filed with the Department of Buildings.
Report: Would count conversions started, pending and completed, and affordable homes created, by borough, every three years from February 1, 2028.
Status: Passed by the Council on November 12, 2026 and sent to the mayor. Would take effect 180 days after it becomes law.

What Int. 178-A would require

The passed text names five agencies that would support owners and developers converting a building, and says the list is not limited to them:

Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
Department of Buildings (DOB)
Department of City Planning
Board of Standards and Appeals
Landmarks Preservation Commission

The support would include:

A liaison who passes information between agencies and answers questions from owners, both those already converting and those considering it, including the status of their applications and permits.
Contact with state and federal agencies involved in conversions, including permits and the grant, loan and tax programs that apply.
A public website with educational material on conversions.
Data collection for the three-year report, and other duties the mayor assigns.

A conversion, under the passed bill, is a change from a commercial or manufacturing use to a residential use in Use Group II, as those terms are used in section 12-10 of the zoning resolution. A conversion project is one for which an alteration application has been filed with the Department of Buildings to start the conversion.

What it would not do. It provides no money and no tax break, and it does not change zoning, review deadlines or affordability rules. Its effect would depend on how the city staffs the liaison and the website. The Council’s Finance Division estimates it would cost $238,000 a year, for two staff positions at HPD; the mayor’s budget office did not provide an estimate.

The three-year report

By February 1, 2028, and every three years after, an agency or office the mayor designates would send a report to the mayor, the Speaker of the Council and the Public Advocate and post it on its website. For the preceding three calendar years, by borough, it would count:

applicants who contacted a city agency and started a conversion project
conversion projects not yet completed, with their status
conversion projects completed
affordable homes created by completed conversions, meaning homes required to be affordable to households up to middle income under a regulatory agreement or restrictive declaration with a government entity

The required report is an aggregate count by borough; the bill does not require a public list of individual projects. The bill as introduced also asked the city to identify what is holding conversions back and to recommend fixes; the passed version does not.

What changed from the bill as introduced

The original Int. 178, introduced on January 29, 2026, would have amended the City Charter to create an Office of Conversion Assistance. The committee amended it on the day of the vote.

Int. 178 as introduced and Int. 178-A as passed

	As introduced (Int. 178)	As passed (Int. 178-A)
Who does it	A new Office of Conversion Assistance in the City Charter, headed by a director appointed by the mayor or the host agency head	Existing agencies (HPD, Buildings, City Planning, BSA, Landmarks and others), with a designated liaison
Help for owners	The office as the primary point of contact for technical assistance, through an online portal in English and the citywide languages	A liaison who answers questions, including the status of applications and permits
Public information	Educational and advisory materials	A website with educational materials on conversions
Barriers	Identify the economic and regulatory conditions hindering conversions, and recommend fixes	Not included
Report	Every year, the first within 12 months after the law took effect, with a summary of the office's activities, five-year totals and each project's phase (design, procurement or construction)	Every three years, starting February 1, 2028, covering the preceding three calendar years
Takes effect	Immediately	180 days after it becomes law

The original also named community boards and borough presidents among the bodies the office would work with. The passed version lists city agencies only.

Timeline

January 29, 2026: Int. 178 introduced and referred to the Committee on Housing and Buildings
September 9, 2026: Committee hearing; laid over
November 12, 2026: Amended to Int. 178-A, approved by the committee and passed by the Council; sent to the mayor
February 1, 2028: First three-year report due

The bill specifies an effective date 180 days after it becomes law. The Council’s legislation page will show the local law number once it is enacted.

Where owners can get conversion help now

As of November 13, 2026, nyc.gov lists an Office Conversion Accelerator. Its current contact page invites owners of office buildings that could produce at least 50 homes to contact the team. That existing program’s threshold is separate from Int. 178-A, which sets no minimum number of homes for assistance and also covers manufacturing-to-residential conversions.

Help from either one does not replace a zoning review, a building-code analysis or a separate application for tax benefits.

How it fits with 467-m

Int. 178-A carries no money. The main city tax incentive for conversions is the state’s 467-m exemption, which offers property-tax exemptions for eligible rental conversions with at least six homes and permanent affordability requirements for at least 25% of them. Benefit rates and duration depend on location and the conversion start date. HPD administers the program under its 467-m guidance. The bill’s liaison would help owners through permits and programs like that one, and its report would count the affordable homes they produce.

Int. 178-A and the federal RESIDE Act

The federal RESIDE Act, Section 210 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is a HUD grant to cities toward converting buildings that are vacant and abandoned. As of October 28, 2026, Congress had appropriated no money for it. If it is funded, the city could apply for a grant, and Int. 178-A would require city agencies to work with federal grant programs that touch conversions.

Questions

What is Int. 178-A?

A New York City bill, passed by the City Council on November 12, 2026, that would add section 3-119.15 to the city's Administrative Code. It would require city agencies to support owners and developers converting commercial or manufacturing buildings, most often offices, into housing: a liaison for questions and permit status, contact with state and federal programs, a public website, and a report on conversions every three years.

Does Int. 178-A create an Office of Conversion Assistance?

No. The bill as introduced would have created one in the City Charter, headed by a director appointed by the mayor or, if housed in another agency, its head. The version the Council passed instead assigns the work to existing agencies, including HPD, the Department of Buildings, City Planning, the Board of Standards and Appeals and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, with a designated liaison.

When does Int. 178-A take effect?

180 days after it becomes law. The Council sent it to the mayor on November 12, 2026. The first report is due February 1, 2028, and every three years after that.

Which buildings does it cover?

A conversion from a commercial or manufacturing use to a residential use in Use Group II, as the zoning resolution defines those uses, once an alteration application has been filed with the Department of Buildings. Owners thinking about a conversion can also get help before they file. The bill sets no minimum project size, building-age cutoff or borough restriction for assistance. It does not make a building eligible for conversion under zoning or building rules.

Does Int. 178-A give money or tax breaks for conversions?

No. It provides help and information, not funding, and it does not change zoning, review deadlines or affordability rules. The main city tax incentive for conversions is still the state's 467-m exemption, which HPD runs.

How much would Int. 178-A cost?

The Council's Finance Division estimates $238,000 a year for two staff positions at HPD, $13,700 in the partial first year (fiscal 2027), with the other duties met from existing resources and no effect on city revenue. The mayor's Office of Management and Budget did not provide an estimate.

Is Int. 178-A the same as the Office Conversion Accelerator?

No. The Accelerator is an existing city program that nyc.gov lists for owners of office buildings that could produce at least 50 homes. Int. 178-A is a separate law that would require city agencies to support any commercial or manufacturing conversion to housing, with no minimum size.

What would the report count?

For the preceding three calendar years, by borough: how many applicants contacted an agency and started a conversion, how many conversion projects are pending and their status, how many were completed, and how many affordable homes the completed ones created. An agency or office the mayor designates sends it to the mayor, the Council Speaker and the Public Advocate and posts it online.

Sources

Other New York conversion law: New York’s 467-m conversion tax break

Federal law: The ROAD to Housing Act explained · Environmental review changes · CDBG and HOME changes · Opportunity Zones · The 2027 Opportunity Zone map · The Innovation Fund · Innovation Fund reforms, city by city · Housing permits in every CDBG city · The Build Now Act · Manufactured housing and the chassis rule · Chassis-free manufactured homes by state · Manufactured home zoning by city · RESIDE Act funding status · How RESIDE grants should be sized · Which buildings meet the RESIDE test · The ban on large investors buying homes